Comedian Raju Srivastava died in Delhi on Wednesday at the age of 58, his family said.

Srivastava was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on August 10 after he experienced chest pain and collapsed while working out at the gym. He underwent an angioplasty the same day.

Srivastava has been working in the entertainment industry since the late 1980s and received recognition after participating in the first season of the stand-up comedy show “The Great Indian Laughter Challenge” in 2005.

He has featured in films like ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, ‘Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya’ and ‘Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon’ among others.

Raju Srivastav, often credited as Gajodhar, was born on December 25, 1963, in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur in a middle-class family. His father, Ramesh Chandra Srivastava, was a poet and he was popularly known as Balai Kaka. 

Raju Srivastav was a good mimic since childhood and he always knew that he would become a comedian.

Raju Srivastav began his career by doing small roles in Hindi films. He also participated in Bigg Boss (Hindi season 3) where he stayed in the house for more than two months. He later participated in the comedy show Comedy Ka Maha Muqabala. 

In 2013, the comedian along with his wife participated in Nach Baliye season 6. He has also appeared on Comedy Nights with Kapil.

The news article was previously published in The Statesman which is a part of Asia News Network.